APGAR SCORE

an immediate evaluation of a newborn infant's responsiveness measured on five factors: skin color, heart rate, respiratory effort, reflexes, and muscle tone. The evaluation is typically performed 1 minute after birth and again at 5 min after birth. The score determines whether the infant requires immediate medical care. Each of the five factors is scored 0, 1, or 2, with a maximum total of 10 points. A total score below 3 indicates that the infant is in severe distress- a score of 4-7 indicates mild or moderate distress- and a score of 7-10 indicates that the infant's condition is normal. [developed in 1952 by Virginia Apgar (1909-1974), U.S. anesthesiologist]